Senegal PBL 2015-17

Milestones Year 2

Senegal: Milestones Year 2

Year 2 at Guede Chantier, Moundouwaye, Lahel and Diarra

The second year has closed with a remarkable success. The combination of learning activities and community engagement has changed the food landscape, empowered women, increased climate resilience and enhanced their livelihoods. Furthermore we installed five pumps and 14 hectares worth of fencing. A big year all in all!

In Diarra 126 women engaged in the permaculture garden and 115 men involved in the agroforestry have closed the second year with a garden bursting with a large variety of vegetables such as onion, tomato, lettuce, eggplant, carrot, turnip, big and small chilli, pepper, combo, melon, papaya, bananas and more. Women associate their good health and well-being with the quality of the food since they are only using organic methods for food production.

Similar progress is occurring in Moundouwaye, where 106 women are engaged in the 2.5 hectare permaculture garden and 166 women are developing two hectares of agroforestry. The year ended with the largest harvest in the history of the village where women practising agro-ecological approaches promoted by the project have turned their arid soil into productive soil again. They are so happy with their self-sufficiency and that they have not had to go to the market to buy food for a whole season.

In Guede Chantier 215 empowered women are working in the 1.25 hectare permaculture garden, utilising natural pesticides including fish tonic, and both liquid and solid manure. Part of the plot has been suffering from soil salinisation and local techniques including mulching and saline prone plants such as peanuts and sweet potato, will be adopted in the next growing season to counteract this challenge.

In Lahel, women developing one hectare of permaculture garden are growing onions, cabbages, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, beetroot, chillies, eggplants and mint, while men have helped to fence the agroforestry plots, waiting for the irrigation system to be installed to start the plantations.

Milestone 1: Agroforestry Training

Conducted by agroforestry expert Mohamed Marigo in April 2015, the training aimed to strengthen the communities’ ability to manage their agricultural land through agroforestry technologies, to improve farm productivity and increase their availability to nutritious foods.

Topics included: substrate preparation, technical forestry nursery, hole digging, composting, mixed cropping and plantation. By the end of the course villagers were able to start preparing their agroforestry plots by applying new composting techniques and developing natural pest management techniques with materials available locally.

The training was followed by monthly mentoring sessions to support the ongoing development of the four plots, mainly managed by the community men apart from Moundouwaye village.

Milestone 2: Permaculture Design Course

Conducted by Permaculture trainer Pradyut Nayek, the second Permaculture Design Course took place in August 2015, building upon previous land restoration achievements. The skills taught included: creating rectangular beds covered in biomass; inviting worms and other insects to soften and feed from the biomass to produce compost; knowing the difference between soil texture and structure; how to use the complementary plants and the correct amount to plant on one plot.

Milestone 3: Change Agent Training

Harnessing the leadership demonstrated by some villagers, this learning activity, which took place in September 2015, provided a group of 50 change agents with the skills to guide and lead change within their communities by creating health-restoring diversified gardens. Participants have also developed the skills necessary to lead field demonstrations in the Permaculture Festival to engage the wider community.

Milestone 4: Permaculture Festival

In September 2015 the Project Change Agents gathered at a festival to showcase the key achievements of the project and share the lessons learnt, to raise awareness among wider communities. Tours of the villages and small peer-to-peer training sessions in Permaculture Design were provided to equip new villagers with the basic skills necessary to start rehabilitating the impoverished soils of the Podor region.

Milestone 5: Food Processing and Preservation Training

To close the project’s second year and to take advantage of the large harvest, the training was conducted with 30 women from Diarra and Moundouwaye over five days. They learnt food preservation techniques for onion, chilli, cabbage, carrot, turnip and eggplant, and how to enrich flour with millet, maize, rice, cowpea and peanuts. Women learnt a wide variety of food processing techniques including couscous from sweet potatoes, flour from cassava, flour from millet and maize, ginger juice, rice, turnip and ginger cakes.

Project Based Learning – Supporting SDGs Implementation

Gaia Education’s Project Based Learning is a dynamic learning approach in which stakeholders acquire appropriate skills and analytical tools while actively exploring real-life solutions to the challenges of designing sustainable settlements.

We work with traditional and indigenous communities in the global South to improve the way they manage their environments and villages, while addressing climate change vulnerabilities. Engaged communities benefit with more stable and fertile soil, secure supply of food, clean water and enhanced livelihoods.

What is an EDE (Ecovillage Design Education programme)?

Ecovillage Design Education programmes, often referred to as ‘EDEs’, take place in more than 43 countries in settings ranging from tribal and traditional communities to intentional ecovillages, from urban slums to universities and training centres. The duration of these programmes are around 125 hours over a full month, although this may vary slightly depending on where and when they are taken. The EDEs provide students of all ages with the knowledge and practical skills to design a society which uses energy and materials with greater efficiency, distributes wealth fairly and strives to eliminate the concept of waste.

Students become change agents and sustainability designers, taking active roles in transitioning their existing communities, institutions and neighbourhoods to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption, as well as leading more joyful, meaningful and healthier lives.